In the manufacture of machine parts and assembly of complex machinery, such as automotive parts and assembly, an operator is often required to perform a repetitive act for long periods of time. For example, an operator may be required to identify that two parts have been properly assembled and further, may be required to do so with only visual inspection. Such inspection is prone to error because an operator may become fatigued or distracted. Further, to prevent errors, inspection of smaller parts may need to be performed at a slower speed than optimal for assembly to allow the operator to properly inspect each piece.
Particularly, in the manufacture of some components, such as shafts that are part of a transmission and/or other driveshaft assemblies, a ring may be placed on the shaft in a circumferential recess on the shaft. The metal ring allows for the shaft to be securely inserted into another component because the metal ring may be nested in the recess during insertion and/or the insertion point may be beveled. Once the shaft is in place, the ring may freely move partially out of the recess and, for instance, into a recess of the component, thus securing the shaft and component together.
However, as each shaft/ring component is assembled, it is important to ensure that the ring has in fact been placed on the shaft. Visual inspection of each shaft/ring component ensures that the ring is present. By performing the same task repeatedly, the assembly line worker may become careless, fatigued, etc. due to the monotony of the task. For example, the task may be related to reviewing schematics to properly assemble elements of the manufacturing process. As another example, the task may be related to quality control to ensure the elements of the manufacturing process are assembled properly. Despite quality control procedures, carelessness, fatigue, etc. may still result in human error along the moving assembly line, which may cause an assembled object, specifically an automobile, to be defective. These defects may cause hazardous working conditions for assembly line workers. Further, these defects may result in hazardous operating conditions for an end-user of the automobile.
Thus, there is a need in the art for removing the potential for human error causing hazardous defects along the moving assembly line.